


Taking The Long Way

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Pale as a Ghost [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Humor, clone theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Ever since Keith came back to the castle, and learned the truth about Ryou, things have been awkward between them.  It becomes tricky when the two of them have to go on a mission, but the situation only becomes more difficult when their transport ship gets stolen.





	Taking The Long Way

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is part three! This story is mainly to wrap up the loose ends between Keith and Ryou. Hope you all like this!

Keith enjoyed flying. It was one of his favorite things in the whole universe. He always felt so free and calm. No matter how big or small the ship was, he would gladly fly it. However, today was the first time Keith wished he was somewhere else, or at they very least, wished he was flying solo.

He glanced over to Ryou who was still slienting drumming his fingers against his knee in the passenger seat.

It had been like this for the past hour. Keith had never been one for small talk, but this was driving him crazy.

_Really wished Shiro hadn’t picked us for this mission,_ Keith thought.

Things had been so awkward between them since Ryou’s origins were revealed. The last thing Keith expected when he came back to the castle was to learn the person he thought was Shiro was actually a clone with all of his memories attached. They both had been avoiding each other since.

The only time Keith did attempt to speak to him was before Ryou went into surgery to have his Galra arm removed. Before that, Keith just didn’t know how to speak to him.

Granted, that was probably part of the the reason Shiro selected Ryou and Keith to go on this job together.

It was a small mission. A weapons dealer that was known for selling on the black market was willing to sell them rare materials that could be used to strengthen the exterior on the rebels ships during battles. Problem was, the seller said he would only speak and make a deal with a paladin of Voltron and it couldn’t be no more than two people.

Shiro would have gone, but he and Allura were busy making plans, and Lance, Pidge and Hunk had already left for their own mission with Rolo and Nyma. That left only Keith and Ryou to take it on.

Keith still thought they should just wait for the other paladins to return, but according to their source, the seller refused to wait no more than a day.

“I know it’s last minute,” Shiro said as he told Keith privately, “but we need those materials.” He then patted Keith’s shoulder. “Besides, this would be a good chance for you and Ryou to clear the air with each other. We’re all on the same team, and you two have got to come to terms with each other.”

In Keith’s opinion, that was easier said than done.

Keith glanced over to Ryou. This was his first mission since Coran declared he was fit to to be on duty again and to also wear his new purple paladin armour. Keith had been surprised by Ryou’s pick when he revealed it. It was a colour that was still close to Shiro and Ryou seemed to make it his goal to not be like Shiro as possible. Then again, Ryou and Shiro did seem to share a close connection, so it did make sense to at least have their paladin colours in common.

Ryou checked the monitor. “We should be arriving on..what’s the place called again?”

“Whyria,” Keith said as the planet came into view, “and apparently it’s a favorite hot spot to sell things on the black market.”

“Right, Matt mentioned that,” Ryou muttered as he adjusted his helmet and gave a forced smile. “Makes you wonder what else they probably sell.”

“Y..yeah,” Keith replied slowly.

They fell into silence again and Keith wished he could bang his forehead into a wall. He’d always been terrible at small talk, and what were they suppose to discuss?

They were and yet weren’t strangers. Ryou had all of the memories of the times Shiro and Keith spent together. If Keith were honest, that was what bothered him the most.

Shiro knew very secret that Keith hadn’t told anyone else, and chances were Ryou knew about them too. How do you speak to someone that knows some of your darkest moments that you barely knew? It was like Ryou was given an advanced cheat sheet before meeting him.

Keith had found it easier to discuss and vent some of his frustrations Krolia. She couldn’t relate exactly, but Krolia never hesitated to listen which was nice. At least that was one change he found he was adapting with, even if Keith didn’t feel comfortable calling her “Mom” yet.

Keith cleared his head and returned his full attention onto flying. “We better start planning to land.”

Ryou looked up the information Shiro had provided before they left. “The seller we’re looking for is in the capital market. So, head west and once we’re there, we should be able to find a place to land.”

Keith nodded and as they fell into silence again, and prayed this was going to be a quick mission.

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Much to Keith’s annoyance, it wasn’t going to be a quick trip. Due to the seller being across the city, they couldn’t park in the docking area and the they made it clear they would have to load the material onto their ship by themselves. The docking bay was too far of a distance for them to carry, and too high of a risk of catching unwanted attention.

So, Keith was forced to park in the middle of the city and judging by their surroundings it wasn’t a very friendly place for it.

Every alien that walked by would toss a dark look like they were plotting as Keith and Ryou stepped out of their ship.

“Nice place,” Ryou muttered grimly.

“No kidding,” Keith said as he crossed his arms and looked around. “So, where is this guy?”

Ryou frowned as he checked the report. “Hmm...according to this, we’re suppose to ask a fruit seller if she has any melons.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“Naw, we’re supposed to ask about apples,” Ryou said with a smile, but it faltered as Keith gave him a neutral stare. “Sorry, was trying to lighten the mood.”

Keith sighed and shook his head. “Well...it’s better than Shiro’s attempts.” He looked around. “I don’t see any fruit seller…” He paused. “Wait, look, over there.”

A few metres away stood a fruit stand with a female Unilu operating it. She didn’t give the pair much notice, but Keith noticed she did keep glancing over her shoulder as she placed more fruit on the counter.

“That’s a good place to start,” Ryou muttered as they approached. 

The Unilu paused in her work as she crossed her two upper arms and locked her gazes at them.

“Need something boys?” she asked.

Keith cleared his throat. “Um...melons?”

The Unilu raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Keith sighed. This was so stupid. “You know, do you have any?” He swore if this was some kind of prank-

“What my friend is trying to ask is if you have any ripe melons to sell,” Ryou asked as he crossed his arms.

The Unilu frowned and then gave a slow nod. “Yeah, sweetheart, I do.” She came out from behind the stand. “Not here though. You’ll have to go to my ‘partner’.”

She glanced around and cupped her mouth with her third arm. “Head straight, and second building on your left. Knock three times on the door before you enter, and say that ‘Lilli’ sent ya.”

“Understood,” Ryou whispered and nodded. “Thank you.”

The Unilu, who Keith could only assume was ‘Lilli’ given the instructions, gave a nod before glanced to their ship. “By the way, you got a tracker on that thing?”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “How is that any of your business?”

Lilli shrugged. “It’s not,” she said as she sent back to her stand, “but if it’s one of ‘those days’ you’ll wish you have one on it.”

Keith was tempted to quiz her more about it, but Ryou was already pulling him ahead before he could speak again.

They followed Lilli’s instructions and found the building she described. 

“Must be the place,” Ryou muttered as he approached and knocked three times.

Movement was heard from within, and an eyehole on the door opened. “What do you want?”

“Lilli sent us,” Keith said as he crossed his arms.

The eyes narrowed and the door promptly opened. “Get in,” the voice said.

Ryou went to move, but Keith stopped him so he could take a quick look inside. If there was one thing he had learned from his time with the Blades, it was to be cautious and know how to tell if a trap was set. However, all Keith saw was a tall alien wearing a mask and several empty crates around him.

“Looks safe,” he told Ryou as he lowered his arm and entered.

“You look like the paladins,” the alien said as he shut the door and then pointed to Ryou, “although I don’t recall there being a purple one.”

Ryou gave a sheepish smile. “It’s a new colour.”

The alien huffed as he crossed his arms. “I don’t like new. How do I know this isn’t a trick?”

Keith reached into his pocket and brought out the disk Shiro had given him. “You sent this encrypted disk to the Blades. They said to give it to you if you doubted us.”

The alien took the disk, sighed and nodded. “Yes, that’s it.” He handed it back to them. “Alright, I’m assuming you are the real deal. Got the money?”

“Yes,” Ryou said as he crossed his arms. “Got the goods?”

“Over here,” the alien said as he patted two large containers. “It’s not a whole lot, but every little bit counts, right?”

Keith frowned as he looked them over. The containers only went up to his waist, they shouldn’t be too heavy. Yet, when he went to lift one off the ground he grunted and had to put it down. “We’re going to break our backs carrying these.”

“I’ll lend you a cart to move them, but after that you’re own your own,” the alien said firmly. “I’m really risking my neck selling this stuff.”

“And it’s appreciated,” Ryou replied. “Let’s finish up this deal.”

Once the alien was paid, it only took a few minutes to load the cart and for them to push it out the door.

“Just leave the cart when you’re done,” the alien instructed. “Lilli will take care of the rest.”

Keith nodded as they left and the alien slammed the door behind them.

“Not the most friendly,” Keith mumbled, “but can’t say I blame him.”

“No kidding,” Ryou replied as they pushed the cart. “I mean, I’m living proof of why we should paranoid.”

Keith’s eyes hardened. “That’s not funny,” he said darkly.

Ryou opened and shut his mouth before he began pushing again. “Right, sorry, that was in poor taste.”

Keith turned his face ahead. “Let’s just load the ship and get out of here.”

Ryou nodded, but then paused suddenly. “Uh..Keith...I don’t see the ship.”

“What?” Keith said as he stopped pushing and stepped forward. “Ryou, we left it-”

He cut himself off. In the spot where Keith had landed their ship was nothing more than a vacant spot.

“I...wait, no,” Keith said as looked around. “Did we end up on the wrong street?”

“No,” Ryou said as he pointed to his right. “Look, Lilli is over there.”

Lilli didn’t bother to look up as she flipped through the pages of her magazine.

Feeling his anger boil, Keith suppressed it as he stomped over to her with Ryou right behind him. “Hey, what happened to our ship?!”

Lilli glanced up from her magazine. “The Tictom gang took it.”

“The what?”

“They’re a local gang that’s been stealing any small ships they can find to see if they can scrap it for parts.” She shrugged. “They’re just a bunch of punks who like to believe they’re master thieves when their complete amateurs.”

Keith twitched an eye. “Let me get this straight? You saw them take our ship?”

“Yup.”

“And you just let them do it?!”

Lilli arched an eyebrow as she slammed magazine on the counter. “Naw, hon, I was just killing time until my kid brought my blaster over from home and then I was going to chase them down!” She waved her hands around like she was holding invisible guns as she scowled. “Do I look like a fighter to you? I’m an old lady! If I tried to take them on I be lucky if I only my arms get broken.”

“She has a point,” Ryou said as he crossed his arms.

“Your best bet is to track them down and see if you can buy your ship back from them,” Lilli replied.

“We don’t have that kind of money with us,” Ryou said grimly.

Keith twitched an eye. “And even if we did, why would we buy it back when they stole it in the first place?!”

“Because what else can you do, genius?!” Lilli snapped. “I don’t exactly see an army backing you up.”

_No, but I bet we could get it back with the Black Lion,_ Keith thought.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Black Lion with them. They were currently stuck on an alien planet with no ride back home. He glanced to Ryou and could tell he had the same thoughts on his mind.

“I’ll try contacting the castle,” Ryou said.

Lilli shook her head. “The weather on this planet messed with long range signals, only local calls on the planet will get through.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Keith snapped, but paused as Ryou touched his shoulder.

“Keith, calm down,” Ryou said. “Getting angry won’t solve the problem.”

Keith swallowed as he tried not to think on how much he sounded exactly like Shiro. His eyes narrowed as he turned his face away. “Fine, but we don’t have just us to worry about.”

“I know,” Ryou said as he looked back to the large containers. “We got this stuff to haul back too, and we can’t just leave it here.”

Lilli sighed as she shook her head. “You boys want me to call ya a ride?”

Keith and Ryou both froze as they slowly turned back to her.

“Repeat that?” Keith asked.

“I know a guy name Mac,” Lilli said as she waved a finger. “Has a small transport ship and flies people to other planets for a fee.”

Keith swallowed. “That sounds like a taxi.”

Lilli rolled her eyes. “If that’s what they call it where you’re from, then sure.”

Ryou scrubbed his face with the palm of his hand. “A space taxi, of course there would be a space taxi.”

Lilli placed her hands on her hips. “Do ya want me to call him for ya or not? I don’t have all day.”

Keith was reluctant to call some guy they didn’t even know, but what other choice did they have? 

“Yeah, fine, go and call him for us,” Keith said.

“We don’t exactly have any other options,” Ryou added.

“Give me a tic,” Lilli said as she left her stand. “Watch my stuff.” She shoved a finger in Keith’s face. “And DON’T eat anything unless you’re willing to buy something! I’m not running a charity here.”

“We got it, we got it,” Keith said as he resisted another growl.

Lilli looked skeptical as she turned her head and muttered under her breath.

“So…” Ryou said as he crossed his arms, “we’re going home in a space taxi?”

“Basically yes,” Keith muttered. “Lance is going to have a field day with this when he finds out.”

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The space taxi arrived with in half an hour. Ryou seemed unfazed as a bright yellow small transport ship landed. However, once the driver stepped out and it was clear as day Mac was the same alien species as Slav, Keith did notice Ryou’s eyes twitch.

_I hope Slav’s habits are just unique to him_ , Keith thought as Lilli waved to the alien.

“Mac, over here,” she greeted and pointed over to Ryou and Keith. “These two are the ones needing a ride.”

Mac chuckled as he pointed his third arm at them and used his second arm to adjust his hat. “Yeah, I figured. Don’t exactly see many white armoured folks around these parts.” He crossed his arms as he approached. “So, how far am I taking you exactly?”

“To these coordinates,” Keith said as he brought up a holomap. “Can you do it?”

Mac gave a low whistle. “Yeah, but that’s a bit farther than I normally travel, especially with cargo.” He raised an eyebrow. “How much money you got on you?”

“Not a lot,” Ryou said as Lilli retreated back to her fruit stand, “but we can pay you in full back at the castle.”

Mac frowned and waved a hand. “Yeah, no, I want payment up front.”

Keith choked. “What? Why?”

Mac sighed as he placed four hands on his hips and his tail twitched back and forth. “Common sense. Do you know how many times I’ve picked up someone and they just say ‘Oh, we’ll pay you once we get there’ and I end up with nothing? And sometimes they go inside, and instead of paying me, come back out with a blaster and tell me to leave.” 

“But we wouldn’t do that,” Ryou said.

Mac scoffed. “That’s what they said too.” He pointed a finger into his third palm. “Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I want at least some collateral. I got five kids to feed.”

Keith growled as he tossed his arms up in the air. “We don’t have anything to offer.”

Ryou went quiet as he glanced to his cybernetic arm. “Yes we do.” He kneeled for Mac and held up his arm. “What about my arm?”

Mac and Keith both choked and exclaimed “WHAT?!” in unison.

“It has a combination of Altean, Earth and Olkarian technology,” Shiro continued as he stood up. “If for some reason you don’t get paid, I imagine the money you get from selling this would compensate that.”

Mac began to sweat. “Uh...I suppose.”

“Wait just a second,” Keith said as he pulled Ryou up to his feet. “What are you doing? That’s your arm!”

“And we need a ride home,” Ryou argued back, “and I’ll get it back once we pay him.” He looked to Mac. “Right?”

“Uh..yeah,” Mac said as he rubbed his neck. “Although, I don’t exactly have the tools to just yank it off-”

“I can take it off,” Ryou said, “just give me a few tics and it can go in the front seat with you.”

Mac didn’t look thrilled, but he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, alright fine.”

“Ryou, you can’t be serious,” Keith said, but his protest was ignored as Ryou approached Lilli.

“There a place I can remove my armour?” Ryou asked.

“Out in back,” Lilli said as she pointed over her shoulder. “There’s a lock on the door if you need it.”

“Alright, be right back,” Ryou said.

Keith stared in disbelief as he massaged his forehead. “I don’t believe this.”

“Got to admit this is a first for me,” Mac said as he scratched his head. “I’ll go load up your cargo while we wait for your friend.”

Keith sighed before he went to assist Mac. Frankly, he needed the distraction.

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Mac had loaded the containers in the back, and then told Ryou and Keith to sit in the passenger seats behind him. It did remind Keith a lot of a cab, including the window that separate Mac’s driver seat from them in the back.

Mac wasn’t thrilled when Ryou handed over his arm, but the driver took it and currently placed it next to him in the front.

The next half hour was spent in silence with Ryou staring out the window. Keith tried to do the same, but he couldn’t. He tapped his fingers against his arm, but each passing second the annoyance and anger only grew.

Eventually, Ryou sighed and turned to him. “Alright, spit it out.”

Keith didn’t turned his head.

“I know you’re furious at me,” Ryou continued. “This was not how I planned for us to get home, but we didn’t have any other options.”

Keith whipped his head around. “That doesn’t mean you had to give up your arm. We could have handed over our bayards or something!”

“The bayards are too valuable to risk losing,” Ryou argued.

“And your arm isn’t?!” Keith snapped.

Ryou placed his hand over his stump. “Worse case I can just get another one.”

“It’s still your arm,” Keith hissed. “You shouldn’t just hand yourself over like that. You’re a person not some..spare part!”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Well someone has to since you’re clearly not!” Keith snapped.

Ryou’s eyes hardened. “Look, I don’t like doing this, but after all the mistakes I made I have to do whatever I can get to make up for them! I know you hate me, Keith, but if there’s someway I can help you I want to take it.”

Keith blinked. “Hate you?”

Ryou blushed and he suddenly turned his head away. “Sorry..I..just..forget it.”

The silence returned, but Keith found he couldn’t take his eyes off of Ryou. “You...really think I hate you?”

Ryou gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t you? I made you believe I was Shiro and then tried to undermine your position as leader. You have a right to.”

Keith squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t hate you.” He opened his eyes and saw Ryou was now staring at him. “I won’t lie, I was angry but it was more at myself for not realizing what was really going on.” He shook his head. “I know Shiro the best I..I should have clued in something was wrong.” 

Ryou leaned back in the chair. “Well, if it makes you feel better that’s how I feel. I have Shiro’s memories, so if anyone should have known something was off from the start it should have been me.”

“But you were tricked,” Keith replied earnestly.

“So were you,” Ryou retorted, “and I’m sorry-”

“Will you stop apologizing,” Keith cut him off as he raised his head. “Look, I know I haven’t talked to you much but..I’ve just been confused. I know you’re not Shiro, but you have his memories and therefore know a lot of stuff about me.” He turned his head away. “I don’t hate you, but..it’s weird. It feels..unbalanced.”

“Because I know stuff about you, but you know nothing about me,” Ryou replied and gave a bitter smile. “Yeah, it’s messed up.” He shut his eyes. “Although, I don’t know anything about myself either.” He tapped his head. “All I got is just bunch of memories that aren’t mine.”

Keith looked over as he chewed his bottom lip. “You’re...protective. From what Lance told me, your first instinct was to protect the team once you found out you were a clone.” He reached out and touched his shoulder. “Also, we do have Shiro back thanks to you. I’m grateful for that.”

Ryou gave a small smile. “Welcome, although I didn’t do much. That was mostly Shiro and Lance’s doing.”

“Still had a part in it,” Keith said and rubbed his neck. “Look..can we...just start over? I know we can’t pretend the past never happened, but I don’t want to stay like this.”

“Me neither,” Ryou said as he touched Keith’s arm. “Alright, we can try.”

Keith nodded and then poked his arm. “With that said, no more of just handing yourself over like that. I’m not keeping quiet if you devalue yourself like that again, okay?”

“Fair enough,” Ryou said with a small smile. “And I’m certain Shiro will have a few words with me too.”

Keith scoffed. “He’s not one to talk. He has a bad habit using himself as a human shield too.”

Ryou frowned and nodded. “Like at the Garrison when you got into that fight and he took that punch for you.”

Keith blinked. Ryou’s body stiffened. Slowly, Keith’s lips curved into a smile and he laughed. “I forgot about that. Shiro ended up with a black eye.”

“And just told all the teachers he ran into a door,” Ryou replied, looking more relaxed.

“Yeah,” Keith said and his smile softened, “it was the first time someone willingly tried to protect me like that.”

Keith didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, but none had ever tried to stand up for him the way Shiro did.

Ryou smiled as he raised his hand. “Can I just say that I also don’t get why Shiro loved the Garrison mac and cheese so much? I recall it tasting like paper and paste.”

Keith laughed. “That’s because Shiro never had good taste buds and your first taste of food was Hunk’s cooking.”

Before Keith realized it, the silence was gone and was replaced by talk of warm memories.

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Keith felt relief once the castle was in their sights. When Keith called they got a very confused Coran on the other end, but Keith and Ryou swore they would explain once they were inside.

Mac landed the ship in the hanger and Keith wasn’t surprised to see Coran, Allura and Lance there to greet them with baffled expressions.

“Uh..what is this?” Lance said as Keith exited a ship.

Keith sighed. “Our ship got taken so we had to take a cab home.”

Lance blinked. “A cab?” His eyes widened as his arms dropped to his sides. “Wait?! Like a space taxi?”

“I am more concerned on why Ryou does not have his arm,” Coran said as Ryou climbed out.

“It’s here,” Ryou said as he held up his arm. “I had to give it to Mac for collateral until we got here.”

“Mac?” Allura asked.

“Our driver,” Keith said as Mac waved his second arm. “Can you pay him?”

Allura blinked as she looked to Mac and then nodded. “Uh..yes, of course. How much, Sir?”

“My bill’s here,” Mac said as he held out his tablet and looked over to Ryou. “Also, since you kept your word I gave you boys a discount. Feel free to call me anytime and next time I won’t bother asking for payment up front. I trust ya now.”

“Good to know,” Ryou said as he held up his arm.

“I have so many questions,” Lance asked.

Keith held up his hand. “Later, right now I need to get to the Black Lion.”

“Why?” Allura asked as she finished paying Mac.

“Because I’m going to track down the thieves that stole our ship,” Keith said and glanced over his shoulder to Ryou. “You in?”

“Oh yeah,” Ryou said as he raced up to Keith. “I just need a minute to reattach my arm.”

“You can attach it while I fly us back there in the Black Lion.”

“Hey, hold up!” Lance cried as he ran. “I got to come and see this!”

As all three of them headed straight towards the lions, Shiro entered, saw the yellow spaceship and blinked. “What the-”

“Keith and Ryou took a space taxi home,” Lance yelled over his shoulder.

“A taxi?” Shiro stammered and then froze. “Hold it! Ryou, why is your arm missing?!”

“It’s not missing it’s right here!” Ryou said as he waved with his detached arm.

“That’s not what I meant!” Shiro snapped.

“We know, we’ll tell you the whole story later,” Keith said as he climbed into the Black Lion with Ryou as Lance got into the Red Lion. “You wanted us to get along, right? Well, you got your wish!”

Shiro opened and shut his mouth as the Black Lion’s door shut. Keith then climbed into the pilot seat with Ryou behind him.

“Let’s go catch some thieves,” Keith said as the Black Lion began to fly off and had a feeling Ryou was smiling with him.

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Once they had gotten close to the planet, it didn’t take long to use the tracker on the lions to locate the missing transport ship. Thankfully, the Tictom gang hadn’t gotten around to dismantling the ship yet and got the fright of their lives when both of the lions appeared at their door.

Lance laughed and declared they should do this more often, but Keith just felt some satisfaction at the payback.

With the ship in tow, they returned to the castle to where Ryou and Keith both got an earful from Shiro about the whole mess. After dinner, Keith found himself lingering in front of Ryou’s room and fingered the two small objects he’d been hiding in his coat pocket for weeks.

Keith sighed as he braced himself. “It’s going to bug me until I do it.” He knocked and then waited.

Ryou opened and blinked at Keith. “Oh, hey,” he said with a smile. “I was about to go join Lance for a movie night. Want in?”

Keith shuffled. “Maybe..but I need to give you something first?”

Ryou frowned, but his kept his mouth shut and waited for Keith to explain.

“It’s...something dumb I found,” Keith said as he rubbed his neck. “I found this thing and I thought of giving it to you after your surgery, but..it felt stupid and I didn’t know how you feel about it-”

“Keith,” Ryou said gently, “it’s okay if you don’t want to.”

Keith sighed. “But..I do, so..here.” He held out a small keychain of small black dog.

Keith tilted his head as he took it. “Where did you find this?”

“At the Earth store in the mall,” Keith replied. “I got dragged there by Pidge and Lance.” He then held up another keychain, but this one had a small red hippo on it.

Ryou laughed. “You always did like hippos.”

Keith blushed. “Yeah...and..well..do you remember..um…”

“Shiro giving you a keychain with a star on it as good luck for your first Garrison exams,” Ryou said and nodded. “Yeah, I do. He also got himself one as a matching pair.”

Keith blushed. He still had his, but he knew Shiro probably lost his keychain during the Kerberos mission.

“I know they’re goofy looking,” Keith mumbled, “but...I thought you like them. However, we weren’t exactly chatting at the time and I didn’t know how you feel about it-”

Ryou stopped him by patting Keith on the shoulder. “I love it,” he said as he held up the keychain. “Thanks, Keith. I’ll keep this in a safe place.”

Keith gave a small smile as he tucked his own keychain in his pocket. “I know I said it before..but just to be clear, I don’t hate you.”

“I know,” Ryou said as he took a deep breath, “but it is a relief to hear.”

Keith patted his back and pointed over his shoulder. “Want to go watch that movie now?”

“Yeah,” Ryou said as he began to walk. “Want in?”

“As long as it isn’t a dumb horror flick, sure,” Keith replied.

They walked together side by side as Keith continued to wrap his hand around the keychain. Ryou might be similar to Shiro, but he was different and that was fine. Keith knew now it only meant he had another friend to get to know.


End file.
